I want to ruin the country

Ordinary palace maids have the chance to be released from the palace, but women who have slept with the emperor are like being sentenced to life imprisonment. Except for death or becoming a nun, they can never even step out of the palace!

The only thing they were thankful for was that they were not buried alive with the late emperor!

Since the Empress Dowager refused to make the decision, some timid and rule-abiding people had no choice but to accept their bad luck and quit smoking at the risk of their lives!

But there are always some people who won't shed tears even when they see a coffin. They are like a dead duck with a stubborn mouth and will not stop until they are beaten up.

These people gathered together and conspired to counter the emperor's anti-smoking campaign.

Yining had long thought that someone would oppose quitting smoking, but he didn't take it too seriously. He thought, "When the enemy comes, we will fight him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. When problems arise, we will solve them. It's not a big deal."

If he can't even control these people in the palace, then there's no point in him being the emperor!

Yining asked Yi Guofang to bring a group of eunuchs to destroy all the confiscated opium and smoking utensils in front of everyone, in order to show his determination to quit smoking in the palace.

This made some palace maids and eunuchs who smoked opium feel very distressed.

This thing is very expensive. Most of the palace maids and eunuchs are not really rich. They also live on salaries.

If they rely solely on wages, their living standards will not be much higher.

Those who have good jobs and have gray income will have a better life if their masters give them rewards from time to time.

Those who didn't have these would find ways to steal. Whoever could leave the palace would collude with each other, secretly hide things and sell them. This was an open secret, hidden from the superiors but not from the subordinates.

But they couldn't do anything about it. Looking at the emperor who had become so thin because of quitting smoking, they didn't dare to complain.

The emperor had a determined look in his eyes and stood there like a black-eyed chicken, as if he had come specifically to cause trouble. No one would dare to offend him.

If the emperor just says something, their fate will change, and if the emperor wants their lives, it only takes a word.

No matter how the palace maids and eunuchs felt sorry for him or how much they missed Yining, he conferred Su Shun the title of clan member of the clan house and ordered him,

"The opium that entered the palace must have come from some insider collusion.

Go investigate, investigate every opium smoker, ask them how their opium came in, and follow the clues, whether they are eunuchs, palace maids, or guards, don't let any of them go."

"Whoo!"

Yining Road,

"Furthermore, they are not just smuggling opium, they are also selling things from the palace out. We must find these people and punish them severely!"

Su Shundao,

"Slave understands!"

Yining lowered his voice and said,

"What's more serious is that the relationships among these palace maids and eunuchs are complicated and they include people from all walks of life.

Everyone knows what I fart, so I must sort things out. Keep what should be kept and clear out what shouldn't be kept!"

Su Shun understood that the emperor did not want to be invisible, and replied,

"The slave knows!"

In Yining's mind, the impact of today's incident is equivalent to Lin Zexu's destruction of opium at Humen.

He wanted to use a series of actions to improve the long-standing bad habits in the palace.

As the "Book of Rites: Great Learning" says, "cultivate oneself, regulate the family, and bring peace to the world." There is no need to talk about self-cultivation. He is the emperor, who dares to say what he is like? He is confident that there is no problem with his character.

What about the Qi family? The imperial palace is his home, just a little bigger than the homes of ordinary people. He should take care of the palace affairs first, and then think about pacifying the world!

Thinking of the destruction of opium at Humen, he thought of Lin Zexu again. Where is he now?

Because of the saying "If it is beneficial to the country, I will do it regardless of life or death, and I will not avoid it because of good or bad fortune", Yining had great respect for this old man, so he paid special attention to his life!

Come to think of it, he has been recuperating at home since last year.

According to historical trends, he would have been sent to Guangxi this year to fight against the "God Worshipping Society" guys, and he would eventually die on the way due to hernia and diarrhea.

Now that I have come to this era, how can I miss the opportunity when I meet a master!

Hernia and diarrhea are not too difficult to treat. I must find a way to cure him so that he can contribute to the survival of the entire nation.

Lin Zexu thought of another famous person, You Zongtang.

Mr. Lin admired him very much. Think about the time, haha, the two of them had already met on the boat in Changsha.

I am in dire need of talented people to fight, so this is a great opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop!

Thinking of this, he did not waste a second and asked Du Shoutian to draft the decree.

"Teacher, draft an imperial edict for me, conferring upon Lin Zexu the title of Grand Secretary of the Hall of Preserving Harmony and Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, and have him receive the imperial edict and go to pay homage to the loyal and righteous public official Tianpei on my behalf.

After the mission is completed, have him bring You Zongtang to the capital! Give him 1,000 taels of silver as travel expenses!

Du Shoutian thought to himself that the emperor had appointed Lin Zexu as the Grand Secretary of Baohe Hall, which meant that he was going to use him in a very important position!

"This old minister will draft the decree right away!"

Yining said again,

"Issue another decree, ordering all provinces, states, prefectures, and counties along the way to send troops to protect Lord Lin. If there is any mistake, the local officials will be beheaded!"

Du Shoutian hesitated.

"Your Majesty, is this a bit heavy?"

Yining Road,

"If it's not serious, then issue an order as I say!"

Du Shoutian Road,

"Your Majesty, this is a serious matter. Should we discuss it with the elders?"

Yining smiled and said,

"Teacher, just print it out. If anyone has any problems, please let them come to me!"

When Du Shoutian saw that the emperor had no intention of negotiating, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and issue the imperial edict.

I thought of You Zongtang, and also of Zeng Zhenfan, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong among the four famous ministers.

Zeng Zhenfan is now not being valued in the capital and seems to be a little frustrated!

Being called a half-saint by later generations, he must have some skills and was a good person. He regarded himself as a student of Mu Zhang'a. Even after Mu Zhang'a's downfall, he often visited Mu Zhang'a's son. This is commendable!

He has always wanted to form the Hunan Army. Since you are so enthusiastic, I will agree to your request and let you do it with all your might!

His student Li Hongzhang should be an editor in the Hanlin Academy now. What kind of editor is that? Stop pretending to be stupid. Can you defeat the foreigners by editing?

It seems that he has no objection to going abroad, and we have to find something for him to do.

There were only five years left before the Second Opium War. Without advanced ironclad ships, they would surely be defeated and history would repeat itself. This was something Yining could never accept!

In just five years, we built our own shipyard and manufactured our own warships. Not to mention whether we have money and technology, we have everything we need. By the time the warships are built and combat effectiveness is formed, it may be too late!

I've been thinking about it but there's no good solution. Damn it, I'd better just buy it and use it first. I have to exchange money for time, and time waits for no one!

Yes, let this guy Li Hongzhang buy the warship.

In history, this guy embezzled more than 4000 million taels of silver and deposited it in Japan. We can't give him the opportunity to embezzle again this time.